It seems very wrong to call anything containing several cups of marshmallows a salad, but history dictates that's exactly what this is. It's Marshmallow Salad with canned fruit; similar to ambrosia but served with the meal not as a dessert.
I know a salad made out of marshmallow and canned fruit seems like a joke but this mixture of mini marshmallows, shredded coconut, mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries and sour cream (not Cool Whip) is serious stuff on the holiday dinner table.
And one of those holidays will be here momentarily.
UNTIL THE 4 DAY EASTER WEEKEND
You'll note the addition of *sour cream* instead of Cool Whip which makes my recipe super classy.
It's kind of how I made Brussels sprouts classy (edible) by tossing them in dijon mustard and honey. After deep frying them.
For as long as I can remember, my family has served Marshmallow Salad at holiday dinners. Sometimes we'd call it Ambrosia, on occasion we'd refer to it it Sour Cream Salad. Truth is, we really never knew what to call it, other than an embarrassment.
We're not the fanciest people on earth, but we're fancy enough to know anything that includes marshmallows should at least be served as a dessert. We serve it as a side dish.
There it sits on the table, right beside the perfectly respectable green beans and mashed potatoes; a big bowl of marshmallows, fruit and coconut winking, "Here I am, in all my tacky glory. Caught ya lookin'!".
Table of Contents
Marshmallow Fruit Salad
If you change it up a bit and call it a fruit salad with marshmallows it sounds almost healthy.
Ingredients
- 10 oz. Can of Mandarin Oranges (drained very well)
- 14 oz. Can of Crushed Pineapple (drained very well)
Speaking of pineapples, I tested out the pulling apart a pineapple hack you can see the results here.
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- ⅓ cup Maraschino Cherries (cut in half)
- ¼ cup Sweetened Coconut
- 3 cups Mini Marshmallows (use the coloured ones for added trash)
If marshmallow salad was a dinner guest, she'd be the sparkly, hooker-with-a heart-of-gold that your Uncle Nick brings to Easter dinner every year. An embarrassing, loud, colourfully dressed dish that you can't help but love.
Plus it's sort of understood you don't talk about either one of them in public.
Steps
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl.
2. Then fold everything together. Cover it up and let set in fridge overnight.
Where did it originate?
Ambrosia (the inspiration for marshmallow salad) was first recorded in a recipe book from 1867 called the Dixie Cookery in the Southern United States. Here's the best part. You can STILL buy the Dixie Cookery cookbook.
I found a copy of the entire Dixie Cookery cookbook online through the Library of Congress. The second recipe in the book starts with "Boil a calf's head".f
I like marshmallow salad. Even though they may not admit it publicly, so does everyone else.
White or Coloured Marshmallows?
If you make marshmallow salad with white mini marshmallows it'll look a bit more like a trifle. It tastes a little different as well because the coloured mini marshmallows are actually fruit flavoured.
But making it white and putting it in a cup classes it up a bit.
Marshmallow Salad (also known as White Trash Salad)
Ingredients
- 1 10 oz can mandarin oranges drained very well
- 1 14 oz can crushed pineapple drained very well
- 1 cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup maraschino cherries cut in half
- ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl and fold together.
- Cover with plastic and let set in the fridge overnight.
Nutrition
If you're looking for another dish to horrify your guests with (until they try them) whip up these bacon wraps made from bacon, condensed milk, dijon, cheese and bread. You would NEVER think those ingredients would make up anything even close to delicious but they're a favourite of everyone who's tried them.
I'm not sure when it happened, but I've taken over the Marshmallow/Sour cream/Ambrosia Salad tradition. It is now my job to smuggle it out of the house under the cover of ageing Tupperware, to all of our holiday dinners. If the neighbours ask, I lie and tell them it's something a little more respectable than marshmallow salad. Like a 3 bean salad. Or a shrunken head.
The good news is, this dish now officially has a name in our house. One year it was dubbed White Trash Salad. The name stuck quickly like Crazy glue to a hard hat. Or sparkles to a stripper.
Here's to strippers, hookers, marshmallows and not caring what other people do or think. Here's to ... white trash salad.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
Jani Wolfe
I have been making this forever but just recently started adding some of the cherry juice to the salad and it brought it to a new level of YUM!! I also add chopped pecans when I have them on hand. Also I leave out the coconut as we aren't fans! Who would have ever thought that sour cream would make such a delicious dessert.
Ellen Shook
Haha! I have had this all my life -- almost 77 years! It was known as Five Cup Salad in our world. We too used tidbits rather than crushed pineapple. I once served it to a Jewish guest from New York (we were living in Augusta, GA) and he couldn't believe it! Loved it! Never saw anything like it! I gave him the recipe. I think we also used regular marshmallows quartered til the minis appeared.
Raeleen Silva
My daughter in law's little brothers dubbed it " The Women Salad "
Heather
We called it Hawaiian Salad. It was a childhood favourite.
Vikki
You've really classed-up our trashy salad--we just had canned fruit cocktail, marshmallows, and Cool Whip (which ought to be honestly labeled: Oil Whip). Gak!!
Mary C
Same as ours in Minnesota, but we cut up bananas in there too so there’s at least one fresh fruit.
Michelle S
I don't understand....Doesn't the sour cream actually make it sour'ish?? Cuz, that would be awful!! How is this sweet?? I honestly don't have a clue!! :-p
Melanie
The sweetened coconut and marshmallows sweeten it up perfectly
Terri
Just ate this for the first time yesterday..it was made with sour cream and I would NEVER have believed it! Not the least bit bitter...absolutely heavenly. Yep...I think I will call it HEAVENLY SALAD.
Valerie
I remember that the cocoanut could be toasted before adding. That was part of the fun, toasting it quickly in a frying pan without setting off the fire alarm.
Trish
I'm forwarding this to my daughter. My mother never let us have something like this so I succumbed to deli bought.
Will serve this in my mother's Waterford crystal -- because I can.
Peace.
Ellen Shook
You go, girl!
Mary
My mom called hers "Dump Salad" cause she dumped everything in together. Crushed pineapple, cottage cheese, Cool whip, and a box of jello for flavor/color. No marshmallows. Put it in a trifle dish for proud display.
marcia de
Mary, your mom's version is actually an old Weight Watcher's recipe! I ate this stuff by the bowlful in the early 80's. One of my favorites.
John
In the Gulf South, my partner's family makes ambrosia when oranges are in season. It is supremed oranges (with their juices), canned pineapple, sprinkling of coconut, and a whisper of sugar.
I've suggested going the marshmallow/jarred cherries/sour cream route, but - TRADITION!
Karen
Theirs sounds closer to the original so they do have the tradition right, lol. But we know marshmallows is what makes it. ~ karen
Ellen Shook
My mother made Ambrosia like this with fresh grated coconut and lots of it! She did add one cherry to each serving which was in a little cut glass bowl alongside each slice of fresh coconut cake.
Sue
Wow! That turns trashy to classy! Must have been a delight at your mother’s holiday table….
Cara
This totally cracks me up! We used to make it in Ohio when I was a kid. For some reason I don't remember crushed pineapple. I'll check with a sibling. Thanks for posting this.....
Barb
My late mother used to always make this at Christmas and we loved it. We used pineapple tidbits and preferred the plain mini marshmallows. Brings back good memories.
Katie
We served this delectable dish as dessert at our wedding in 1981 with an extravagantly decorated wedding cake that even included a bridge. And a grooms fruit cake. Seriously. Everyone said they loved it. Don’t think the fruit flavoured ones were invented yet cause we used the white minis. Am sure it is still as delicious as it was then.
Teresa Trucks
Love seeing versions of this mess. Now that I’m not so poor I make it fairly often fairly close to this recipe. Only differences are: a whole jar of cherries, chunked pineapple, white marshmallows and hand whipped cream (no sugar added!) but I may mix in some sour cream next time and see what the family thinks. Sounds yummy to me!
Karen
The sour cream - and i can't believe i'm going to say this - adds depth to the flavour.😂 ~ karen!
Leeanna Rook
Hahahaha!!!! Grew up with this in rural Saskatchewan too. We used chunks of pineapple instead of the crushed variety and made it with sour cream. We called it “Skinner Salad” after the surname of the great great aunt who must have first brought it to family gatherings. As a kid it was the only kind of salad I liked. I thought it was salad until I left home at 18 and discovered that salad is supposed to be healthy. When I got married my husband could not believe how it would always pop up at family dinners. 🤣
Karen
It does come as a surprise on the dinner table to the uninitiated, lol. ~ karen!
Bonnie Jane Harris
Over the years, I've seen this served, but mostly in small towns and rural areas. It's sometimes called 7 Cup Salad when halved grapes are added. I keep it in my recipe book too. So good! Thanks Karen.
Nancy Ann
Love your name, Bonnie Jane Harris! I'm getting a new dog and I going to name her that!
Becky
Ahhh, the memories! This was a bit of a "fancy" dish at our holiday meals and, as a kid, who wouldn't want a big dollop of this colorful sugary delight snuggling up with the ham? To this day, when offered real whipped cream or Cool Whip, my 95 year-old mother will go for the hydrogenated goodness of CW every time! Now, where's my spoon...
kat
Oh Ambrosia, my old friend! Every bridal and baby shower in my childhood, every holiday gathering and sometimes just for fun, the Ambrosia Salad would appear.
Such fond memories...
Sally
I’d be...willing to try it??!…🤔. I’ve heard of the American ambrosia before (and, obviously, the classical food of the gods meaning), but here in the U.K. Ambrosia is a brand of tinned rice pudding (and other milk-based things like custard and tapioca etc) which is completely delicious and is probably the default version of the pudding for the last couple of generations! Almost more doable as a side dish than anything with marshmallows in! 😉
Karen
I love rice pudding! ~ karen
Lois
We never had that oh-so-Christmas-y green bean casserole, but we had a version of this. Totally better!